February is Cancer Prevention Month According to the World Health Organization 30 to 50 percent of all cancer cases are preventable. The largest avoidable risk factor for cancer mortality is tobacco smoking, which kills approximately 6 million people each year (from cancer and other diseases). The reason tobacco smoke is so dangerous is that there […]
The History of Ambler, Pennsylvania
The History of Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler, Pennsylvania, a small town 16 miles north of Philadelphia, was once known as the asbestos manufacturing capital of the world. The town thrived because of Richard Mattison, the son of a Quaker farmer. He went to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. While […]
The Difference between COPD and Asbestosis
The Difference between COPD and Asbestosis COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease obstructing airflow from the lungs. It is caused by irritating gases and particulate matter, which is usually cigarette smoke. The two biggest contributors to COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is caused by inflammation of the lining of […]
Recycling and Disposal of Asbestos
Asbestos is a highly regulated substance under many different statutes: As solid waste under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) As a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) As a building Material under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) As an airborne contaminant under the National Emissions Standard […]
Johnson & Johnson Knew it had Asbestos in its Products
Johnson & Johnson Knew it had Asbestos in its Products Reuters has investigated and found that Johnson & Johnson has known that asbestos was in its baby powder since at least 1971. From 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for asbestos. The company’s lawyers, doctors, scientists, […]
Today is the Great American Smokeout
Today is the Great American Smokeout For more than 40 years the third Thursday in November, known as the Great American Smokeout, has been a day to quit smoking. The Great American Smokeout started when Arthur P. Mullaney in Randolph, Massachusetts asked people to give up smoking for a day and donate whatever money would […]
Rising Levels of Asbestos Imports into the United States
Rising Levels of Asbestos Imports into the United States The United States’ importation of asbestos has increased 2,000 percent from July to August of 2018, going from 13 metric tons in July to 272 metric tons in August. With the amount of asbestos coming into the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not protecting […]
Magnesium Extraction in Old Asbestos Mines
After health groups and experts pressured the Canadian government to ban asbestos, it finally agreed to do so in 2016. The ban is going to take effect soon and importing, selling, and using processed asbestos fibers and products containing them (except for trace amounts) will be banned. Residue left from mining asbestos (800 million tons […]
Asbestos in American Schools
The last thing parents should be worrying about when sending their children to school is the potential health effects caused by dangerous carcinogens. Sadly, this is not the case with the amount of asbestos in schools across the United States. Back in January 1984 a survey of 2,600 public school districts and private schools was […]
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Files a Petition for Asbestos Company Transparency
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization along with the American Public Health Association, Center for Environmental Health, Environmental Working Group, Environmental Health Strategy Center, and Safer Chemicals Healthy Families have submitted a petition demanding more transparency from organizations that import asbestos into the United States. They do not think that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is […]